Mark Simmons and Gundam

[doghunter1]

I may have watched Gundam shows, but I'm still new on certain things, and forgive me for asking this, but what's the story behind Mark Simmons and Gundam's lore? I mean, how did his fanboyism end up reaching the ears of both Sunrise and Bandai in that, he became the go-to guy for Gundam lore when the two franchises first brought the franchise over to the West, which explains the Official Guide?

[Dustman]

I have no idea how this thread is going to turn out so, being diplomatically inclined, I'll chime in first for the sake of saying this as politely as possible.

Couldn't you have just... asked him? In a private message? I'm sure he would respond kindly and more openly than he would with a thread like this, where it may seem as though you don't care about his personal experiences and only want to hear about his career history as rumors. You understand the problem with that when he's an active member of this forum, right? With all due respect, it's very rude.

[doghunter1]

I have no idea how this thread is going to turn out so, being diplomatically inclined, I'll chime in first for the sake of saying this as politely as possible.

Couldn't you have just... asked him? In a private message? I'm sure he would respond kindly and more openly than he would with a thread like this, where it may seem as though you don't care about his personal experiences and only want to hear about his career history as rumors. You understand the problem with that when he's an active member of this forum, right? With all due respect, it's very rude.

I apologize. I didn't want to disturb him. If you want, you can have this thread locked.

[ShadowCell]

besides we all know it was actually because he journeyed to the top of Mount Gundam and trained with the mysterious Bald Wizard to control arcane forces of sourcing and speak a strange and fantastical language that none of us can hope to comprehend, and now he calls upon the mystic threads of nature itself to bring us Gundam trivia

and the sages at Sunrise and Bandai realized they were dealing with a grandmaster and sought out his wisdom and mastery of the enigmas of Gundam trivia at the foot of a gunpla tree, and so was born a most mighty alliance

[Dustman]

I apologize. I didn't want to disturb him. If you want, you can have this thread locked.

Well, I mean, don't feel like I'm shaming you or anything. It's just not the best way to go about things if you can ask directly. Nobody would know that story better than he does and besides, you never know what kinds of non-disclosure agreements he's signed over the years. Those kinds of things make a public inquiry difficult, risky and somewhat invasive.

[Zeonista]

Yeah, what ShadowCell said.

Well, without getting into specifics, Mr. Simmons is living the dream for a lot of us. He was a dedicated and driven fan back when in the Eighties, when he was a writer for the legendary fanzine Animag, which back in the pre-Internet days was a big part in a lot of fans actually learning something about the hobby and a lot of the big name shows back then. The staff of Animag more or less moved on to capitalize on their fandom connctions in Japan & the USA to start Viz, which 20 years later is still bringing over the anime & manga hits from Japan. (Thanks Viz!) In turn this let him work his way into doing work for Bandai USA and getting some good credit with the guys who bankroll Gundam and distribute it worldwide. But he has never got a big head at going pro, he has always taken some time to share his love of Gundam lore with us here at MAHQ. You are the man, Mark.